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An Apple a Day…
Fiber-Rich Breakfast
OK, it's a little late to worry about keeping the doctor away, but your body can still benefit from the fiber and vitamins apples offer. If raw fruit is difficult to eat and digest during chemo, this easy idea makes for a comforting, semi-sweet breakfast:
Slice a medium-size apple into small pieces.
Spice it up a little with cinnamon, nutmeg, and a little brown sugar.
Simmer on medium-high in a non-stick pan with a 1/4 cup water until the apple starts to get soft.
Stir in a quarter cup of All-Bran cereal or some granola. Remove from heat and let stand for a minute.
Serve warm and fragrant as is or with soy milk.
Cool & Comforting
Herbal Tea Compresses
If you come home feeling a little rugged after chemo treatments, you might find a cool, aromatic compress physically and emotionally soothing. A few of my favorite facial flavors: Celestial Seasonings Peppermint, Lipton Lemon Soother, or any brand of green tea with ginseng plus peppermint leaves from my back yard.
The night before…
Pour two cups hot water over six herbal tea bags in a small mixing bowl. Steep for ten minutes, cover, and refrigerate overnight.
After treatment…
Remove tea bags, and place three folded face cloths in bowl. Wring out excess moisture and lay compresses across forehead and wrists. Refrigerate extra to refresh compresses as needed.
(I also found cold peppermint compresses helpful for hot flashes.)
Pasta to the People!
Tofu Italian-style
The question I get asked almost every time I buy tofu in the grocery store is, "What do you DO with that stuff?!" Let's face it, tofu is gross. It's disgusting. It looks like albino beef liver and tastes like a sweat sock. But it's really, really good for you, and it can be disguised as something edible. Tasty, even. The key is to hide it inside something you like. Browning firm texture tofu the same way you would brown ground beef or cubed chicken is an easy and delicious way to add the healthful benefits of soy protein to your favorite pasta dishes.
Here's how:
Dice firm texture tofu into small cubes
Throw them into a skillet with some olive oil
Shuffle them around, browning them like you would ground meat
Stir in:
A couple good-sized cloves of minced garlic
One small white onion, finely chopped
One medium stalk of celery, slivered
Some carrot shavings (mostly for color)
Your choice of seasonings (basil, oregano, course ground black pepper, and parsley or an Italian seasoning blend work great)
Stir that whole mess until it's all nicely browned.
Add this mixture to:
Alfredo sauce and serve over linguini
Marinara sauce and serve over spaghetti
Or serve with steamed veggies and angelhair pasta.
Visit VegSource.com for info
on the vegetarian lifestyle.
chemoheads.com does not endorse, recommend or guarantee any of the above. This listing is provided solely to assist you in your own research.
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10 Good Things to Eat When You Don't Feel Like Eating
Having trouble facing the dinner table during chemo? Can't get back on track after treatment? These foods don't replace an ongoing balanced diet, but might help get you through a rough day or two.
1 Cereal Skip the milk (dairy products can be hard to digest) and crunch on it like you would popcorn. In addition to calming a stormy stomach, breakfast cereals are often enriched with calcium, vitamins, and minerals. Try Kix and Cheerios.
2 Soup I know it's a cliché, but chicken noodle, tomato, or a nice, light vegetable soup can make you feel better. It warms you up, calms you down, and makes it a little easier to think about eating other foods.
3 Bagels A plain, cinnamon, or whole wheat bagel can pack as much as 10 grams of protein. Toasted lightly, they stay soft on mouth sores. Skip the greasy margarine and opt for a soothing all-fruit spread.
4 Graham Crackers If you're having trouble with mouth sores, avoid the kind with granulated sugar and cinnamon on top. Drizzle on a little honey and enjoy with a lovely cup of chamomile.
5 Animal Crackers We feed them to babies because they melt in the mouth and don't require chewing. Sweet, semi-substantive, and easy.
6 Whole Wheat Toast Whole wheat bread has lots of vital nutrients and lightly toasted, it's a warm, comforting food. Drizzle with honey, skim with all-fruit preserves, or if you're up to it, spread with peanutbutter for a little protein.
7 Protein Shakes Prepared or powdered supplements like Boost, Ensure, or even Slim-fast and other diet shakes provide a lot of nutrition in a smooth, chocolate or vanilla shake. If milk is a problem, try the kind that mixes with fruit juice.
8 Flat Breads Wasa, pita, or even flour tortillas. They're bland, have no strong smell, and put something benign in your stomach so you can begin working up to eating something with more nutritive value.
9 Jell-O It's cool, soothing, tastes great, goes down easy, packs a surprising amount of protein--and it jiggles! What more could you ask?
10 Scrambled Eggs Warm, easy-going, and a good source of protein. Cook this fluffy comfort food without oil or grease in a non-stick pan.
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